


AKA Slow, Love, Slow

by for_t2



Category: Jessica Jones (TV)
Genre: Alias Investigations, Angst, Depression, F/F, Heroism, Inspired by Nightwish, Investigations, New York City, Post-Canon, SHIELD, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 05:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19311139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for_t2/pseuds/for_t2
Summary: Season 3 may have been the end for us, but for Jess, it's just the beginning





	AKA Slow, Love, Slow

It all starts innocently enough. 

A rough fuck. Some random blonde who’s name she can’t remember. Some night when she’s a little more drunk than usual. Some bar where she shouted until the TV was turned on to the right channel, but the right show wasn’t there. It never is anymore, and neither is that piece of her heart. 

She screams at him that night. To push harder. Faster. To hurt her. To break her. Maybe to prove that she isn’t already broken. To prove that she’s too strong to be broken. 

But it helps. It always does. It gives her a moment where she doesn’t have to think. Followed by a moment where she’s too passed-out to think. 

It starts when she wakes up in the morning, head pounding. When she sees the other side of the room. When she sees her face. Pinned up to the wall. That headline. 

She vomits. 

***** 

It starts when she stumbles back into the apartment that morning. 

When Gillian mutters something about her being late. When Malcolm wanders in and asks her where the hell she was. 

Right. She works with someone now. Trish always told her that she was too good to listen to some idiot manager. That she was too independent. And that was good. But fuck, maybe it’s a good idea to have someone sober in charge for once. 

And he’s good. First day on the job, and he’s already got a dozen cases lined up to go. Of course, he says it’s all because he learned from the best. Because she’s the one people really want – the hero of New York, the hero of Alias Investigation. 

And part of her hates that he’s right. Because she deserves this. Because she’s a big, gorram hero. Because she sent the person she loved to the Raft. 

Doesn’t that make her brave?

***** 

It starts when she barges into Hogarth’s office. 

She doesn’t remark on the new wheelchair, because that would be cruel. Even Hogarth doesn’t deserve that. Even if she pushed Trish to… On second thought, maybe she does deserve it. 

Of course, she regrets it the moment she says it. Even if Hogarth tries her best not to react. A hero’s not supposed to act this way. A hero’s not supposed to be selfish. 

So then why does she ask Hogarth to use her most exclusive contacts?

***** 

It starts when she’s walking down the street. 

When some random stranger stops her. Looks at her the way Trish used to. Like she’s the best person in the world. 

When that stranger tells a story of a best friend slaughtered by vigilantes for looking suspicious. For being the wrong type of person for her hometown. For family values. 

When that stranger tells her she’s a hero. Says that she’d love to take Jess out for a drink. 

Jess doesn’t say anything. Just pushes past the stranger. 

It seems too familiar. 

How would Trish have handled it?

***** 

It starts when Jess follows the new case. 

Ex-military. Highly decorated. He thinks his daughter is being used to traffic drugs. He doesn’t realise she does it happily. That he’s the reason why she does it. He says he cares. 

He doesn’t tell her he’s planning on running in next year’s election.

***** 

It starts when it shows up at her door. 

A dead cat. With a love note. 

***** 

It starts when she interviews the campaign manager. 

He asks her for her endorsement. 

For her to help make New York great. 

Because, they tell her, that’s what heroes do. That’s what heroes are for. 

***** 

It starts when they show up at her door. 

Two people in suits. They seem friendly. Their badges say S.H.I.E.L.D. 

They want to know why she’s been asking questions. 

Because she has to know. Because Jess isn’t ready to stop being her hero. 

***** 

It starts when she unrolls the painting left at the doorstep. 

It’s her. Strong, powerful, unbeatable. Inspiring. It’s not her at all. 

And the villain of the painting, the evil enemy crushed beneath Jess’s heel, isn’t her either. She never was Hellcat. She was Trish Walker. 

It’s Malcom who first spots it. The clue. 

Someone’s in danger. 

Someone wants her to be the hero again. 

***** 

It starts when she breaks and enters in the middle of the night. 

She finds a hint that there may be something deeper going on. That it’s not just an election campaign. 

She’s never surprised anymore when she finds out some people think people are here to serve the greater good, no matter the cost, irrelevant in the mantras. 

She’s terrified, because she knows where this goes. And she’s angry, because she won’t let it happen again. 

Is really heroism to just do the right thing? 

***** 

It starts when she finds him for the second time. 

She still doesn’t remember his name. But he knows hers by heart. And he knows her powers by heart. She doesn’t know his powers. 

He’s slippery. Now you see him, now you don’t. A master of illusions, he calls himself, a magician. And he tells her she’s stunning. That he loves her. That this city needs her to be its hero again. Before it’s too late. 

And he’ll make sure the clock ticks down. Because he knows she’ll save everyone. 

But she couldn’t even save the person she loves. 

***** 

It all starts when she picks up the phone. 

The pre-arranged time, the pre-arranged number. She shouldn’t be doing this. But she has to. Because how can she be a hero when she’s so, so fucking alone. 

She dials. 

“Hello?” 

Jess stays silent. She’s never stopped thinking about it, but she still doesn’t know what to say. 

“Hello?” 

She sounds so fragile. So unsure. So… broken. But her voice is still the most beautiful thing she’s ever heard. It’s still the missing piece of her heart. 

“Jess, is…” Trish says, “Is that you?” 

Jess lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Would I still be a hero if I came for you?”

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely inspired by the song Slow, Love, Slow by Nightwish
> 
> Also inspired by the fact that there's still so much story that the characters of JJ can tell


End file.
